Wow! If there´s one question I´ve heard over and over again lately, it´s been ¨Why Peru?¨ followed up immediately by ¨Whatever in the world are you going to be doing there for three months?¨

Well . . . I am in Peru because a dear friend asked me if I would house-sit for him. Also, I love this country . . . the mountains are amazing, the people are wonderful, the living is inexpensive and the food is fresh and local. Peru is also a great place for healing. There is something about the land that I connected with the last time I was here, so I figured why not come back?

Besides, I´m always happy to have an opportunity to brush up on my Spanish. I like to immerse myself in a place that´s completely foreign and different than what I´m accustomed to. Peru is a place where you get to live very close to the land, far away from the bagged, tagged and sanitized for your protection attitude of the US. Most of all, I´m here to live in a rural environment where I will be far, far away from the lure of finding parties and other social engagements. Because, I suppose I could say ´no´to going out all the time with the groups of friends I´ve made in every single city across the USA, but I never do.

So, I´m here to ostracize myself a bit and to write and to be far, far away from distractions.

Someone asked me that question yesterday . . . where are all the accompanying pictures for these adventures?

Well . . . I must admit that I own more than several cameras, but for some reason the last few years I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from using most of them, even though I have a tendency to carry a camera with me just about everywhere I go. The only thing I can figure is that I have been so transfixed by all the moments unfolding in front of me that I have not had time nor inclination to use cameras to freeze those happenings.

I realized awhile ago that it’s difficult to be very good at several things simultaneously. The past few years as I’ve been gypsying around, I’ve been paying attention to the conversations and the things happening around me . . . and instead of capturing those moments on film or digitally, I’ve been writing about them . . . because more than anything, writing about those moments is my gift and truest calling. I do have a passion for photography, but have been more interested as of late to proceed fullest throttle forward with the one passion that trumps even my photo bug . . . and that is my writing.